Page 77 of Miss Wylde and the Wynd

“Your wife looks lovely in that bonnet,” the clerk said as Damian completed his purchase.

“Yes, she does,” he agreed then led Georgie back out on the walk.

“Why did he assume I was your wife when we had not said anything?”

“Because if you were a…” His blue eyes widened and she watched as he stared and tried to find an explanation.

“Mistress?” She chuckled. “I do know they exist but how could the clerk in the millinery shop know which I was?”

“A matter of style, I suppose.” Georgie did not have to ask anything further when she recalled the two women who had ridden in that first mail coach with them. Both had been beautiful, their hair had been artfully arranged, and their bonnets were of silk or similar fabric. She wasn’t as pretty, nor was she as fashionable.

“A mistress would likely choose the most expensive bonnet in the shop and consider it her due. You did not want one at all and no doubt had I selected something of silk with ribbons and frills that you would have thought me a fool.”

“True, but I would have let you purchase it because I am not arguing with you today.”

Damian chuckled. “This straw bonnet is perfect. And, it is perfect for you, Georgie. There is no artifice to your personality or in your dealings with me. You are not mercenary either and it pleases me to be able to provide something you need, even if it is simply a bonnet.”

While his words were not exactly a compliment, she did like his opinion of her.

“There is one concern that you should have,” she said.

“I have none, but what do you believe I should be worried about?”

“Three gentlemen now believe that we are wed. Panmure, Frome, and now Chisholm. And, while you were not concerned that anyone would believe Panmure, can you be so certain of the others?”

“They will not speak out of turn,” he assured her.

“Did you ask them to say nothing?” She knew that he had not, unless it had been in a conversation that she had not heard. “How soon before it is mentioned in passing. Gossip such as that spreads and by the time you attend the Season next spring, all of London will believe you are a married man.”

“It would be liberating if they did,” he responded with a smile. “I would be left alone.”

She assumed that he would eventually want to wed, which would be impossible if everyone believed him unavailable.

“There are benefits to no longer being a bachelor. I am the spare and assumed heir until Sterling’s wife produces a son, therefore, there are misses and their mothers who would like to gain my attention and then bring me up to scratch,” he grumbled. “I never fooled myself into thinking that it was me they were interested in, but the potential future title, connections, and the wealth our family has accumulated through Trade Wynd.”

“Is it because you think so little of yourself?” Which she found difficult to believe. “Or are you untrusting of those in Society.”

“Untrusting,” he answered without thought. “Marriages are rarely based on affection or love, which is why I have no plans ever to wed. There is no need for me to do so.”

“What if your brother does not have a son?”

“I am not concerned, but even if that came to be, I have three younger brothers. My life is not one that would support a marriage.”

“I do not understand.”

“Every waking hour I am at Trade Wynd. It requires my constant attention and if someone had not stowed away on my ship, who I needed to apprehend, I would be there now.”

Oh dear, she hoped that he wasn’t coming to resent her for taking him away.

“But I have also come to realize that it is good to be away for a time. Do I want to spend endless hours on a mail coach again? No. But it has been an interesting few days that I will not forget.”

Nor would she.

“Maybe you will realize that not all your time needs to be spent in your office.” Though she didn’t want him to rush out and find a wife either.

“I will only marry for love, Georgie. The Wynd family has no need for connections. I will marry if I ever meet a person that I want by my side always.”

He may believe that he would remain a bachelor, but situations change, and Georgie found herself already jealous of the woman he had not yet met.